About nine of 10 new jobs over the next decade will be in services-producing industries, many of them in health care. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released projections for growth in jobs through 2026. It estimates that U.S. employment will increase by 11.5 million over the 2016-26 decade, somewhat faster than the prior 10 years, which were marred by the Great Recession.

If you haven’t checked out the amazing resource which is the Occupational Outlook Handbook, you should. It provides a wealth of information on about 575 occupations such as growth prospects, wage rates, work environment, training requirements and much more. It includes a searchable database and user-friendly descriptions, tables, graphs, maps, even videos.

The latest projections reveal underlying shifts in the way businesses are functioning, the economy is growing and the population is changing. Expansion in the U.S. labor force will be slow as population growth rates decline. The labor force participation rate is also projected to continue to fall, reaching 61 percent in 2026, down from almost 63 percent in 2016 and 67 percent at its peak in 2000. The aging of the baby boom generation will increase the share of workers age 55 and older and the diversity of the workforce will rise. By 2026, about one of every five workers will be of Hispanic origin.

Looking at job growth by industry, health care and social assistance is expected to become the largest major sector by 2026, with almost four million jobs added. That’s about one-third of all new jobs. Health-care support occupations (with growth of more than 23 percent) and health-care practitioners and technical occupations (up more than 15 percent) are projected to be among the fastest-growing occupational groups. The aging of the baby boomers, longer life expectancies and growing rates of chronic conditions are factors contributing.

On the list of 20 occupations adding the most jobs, the top is personal care aides, expected to increase by 754,000 over the next 10 years. Other high-growth occupations include fast-food preparation and serving workers (up 579,900), registered nurses (437,000) and home health aides (425,600). Rounding out the top five is software developers (applications) with a gain of 253,400 projected. The list contains several other health-care fields, more food service categories, janitors, operations managers, construction laborers, accountants, market researchers, landscaping workers, truck drivers and maintenance and repair workers, among others.

Only five of the 20 fastest-growing occupations pay more than $50,000 per year (based on median pay): registered nurses (at $68,450), software developers ($100,080), general and operations managers ($99,310), accountants and auditors ($68,150) and market research analysts and marketing specialists ($62,560). Many of the fields adding the most jobs involve much lower pay in the range of $20,000-$25,000.

A closer look at specific occupations can reveal additional shifts. For example, software developers are well paid and the field is adding more jobs than almost any other. However, the closely related occupation of computer programmer is one of only a handful of jobs paying $75,000 or more that are expected to decline in number over the next decade. The important distinction is that software developers create the designs for computer applications based on an understanding of business requirements and other parameters. Programmers then write and test code, turning program designs into instructions that a computer can follow.

The latest projections indicate solid job growth across most industries and occupations. Jobs that pay well and are adding significant numbers of positions over the next 10 years are concentrated in fields that require more education. Some occupations that have paid well in the past will be shrinking in the future. Health care will continue to be a major source of new jobs, both at the upper and lower ends of the pay scale. The U.S. population and economy are changing, and projections of growth by occupation highlight the ongoing evolution. Of course, all of these projections are subject to a great deal of uncertainty. Typically the fastest-growing occupations a few years hence (in percentage terms) do not even exist today.

Economist Ray Perryman is president and CEO of The Perryman Group, an economic research and analysis firm based in Waco. He was selected as the 2012 Texan of the Year by the Texas Legislative Conference.

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